George Washington's Chinaware, First Edition

Hundreds of George and Martha Washington's porcelain and earthenware objects have survived, along with Washington's meticulous accounts and extensive correspondence. Together they illuminate not only the trade, shipping and commercial practices of the period from 1757 to 1802; they also offer a vivid picture of contemporary table customs and social conventions.

Susan Detweiler and Mount Vernon's curator, Christine Meadows, tell the story of Washington from his early years at Mount Vernon to the presidency and his official residences in New York and Philadelphia. Through informative and often amusing quotes from guests at the Washington's table, astute interpretations of some of the puzzling extant documents concerning the chinaware, and a wide-ranging selection of illustrations unexpected aspects of Washington's personality are revealed in a broad and refreshing account of America's First Family, and of eighteenth-century colonial life as well.